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Quarantine Activity #4: Make your own mozzarella cheese

4/10/2020

That's right! I made my own cheese the other day. But only after I finished making it, did I realize I could have used food colouring to make it a fun Easter pastel colour! Darn!

Here's the recipe and instructions:

4 letres / 1 gallon milk (you can use skim, 1%, 2%, or homogenized. However, the lower the fat content of the milk, the less stretchy the cheese will be.)
1/4 teaspoon (1/4 tablet) Rennet (available on Amazon) + 1/4 cup water
1.5 teaspoon citric acid + 1 cup water
cooking thermometer & a large pot (bit enough to fit a gallon of milk)

Add Rennet to the 1/4 cup water and stir until combined. Set aside.
Add citric acid to the 1 cup water, combine, and add to your large cooking pot.
Heat the milk on your stove at a low temperature until your thermometer reaches 90 F - 95 F. This is a really low temperature! It'll barely be warm. If you heat it up to much, just turn off the heat and wait for the temperature to lower until it's back down at 90 F - 95 F.
Remove the warm milk from the heat, and add in the Rennet + water mixture. Mix for several seconds until fully combined.
Cover your pot and allow to fit for 5-10 mins.
At this point, the milk will have curdled, and soft, chunky cheese curds will have separated from the liquid. It will look like mushy feta. Drag a small knife through your cheese until it's cut into 1 inch squares.
Put your pot back on the heat, and with your thermometer, allow it to heat to 105 F. Slowly stir your curdled cheese. The longer your stir, the firmer the cheese will be.
Now it's time to drain your curdled cheese! I scooped mine out of the pot into a bowl with a slotted spoon.
Now it's time to microwave the cheese. If you don't have a microwave, use this method: Place your cheese in a fine sieve, and submerge it in a pot of hot water (similar to how a double boiler would work, but with a sieve and not a pot). Use your thermometer and allow the internal temp of the cheese to raise to 135 F. Remove from heat and knead. You may have to do this a few times to keep the temperature of the cheese up.
If you are using a microwave, place your cheese in a microwaveable safe bowl, and put into the microwave for 30 seconds. Knead while it's still warm. You may need to microwave a couple more times to keep the temperature of the cheese up.
The cheese will begin to get smooth and stretchy! Add a dash of salt as you're kneading the cheese for flavour.
Form it into a ball, and it's ready to eat! Wrap in plastic and store in the fridge :)

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Quarantine Activity #3: Homemade Dinner & Dessert Ravioli!

4/1/2020

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RAVIOLI PASTA:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 pinch salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
2 eggs
1 1/2 tablespoons water
Egg Wash: 1 egg + 1 tbsp water for

SPINACH FILLING:

1 cup frozen spinach
4-6 oz herb & garlic cream cheese (you can use plain cream cheese too and add in a dish of garlic powder though!)

CHOCOLATE & BERRY FILLING

1 cup frozen berries
1/4 cup chocolate chips
1 heaping tbsp fruit jam
1 heaping tbsp flour

In a bowl, combine flour and salt and form into a mound with a well in the centre. Whisk the olive oil, eggs, and water in a separate bowl. Add half of the egg mixture to the flour and mix. Add the remaining egg mixture, remove from bowl and knead.
Knead the dough for about 8 to 10 minutes. If your dough is too sticky, add flour. If your dough is too dry, add water by the tablespoon until it's soft and stretchy. Wrap your dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.
Now, prepare the ravioli fillings! Combine the ingredients for your Savoury filling and mix until incorporated, and set aside. Combine the ingredients for your Sweet filling and mix until incorporated. Set aside.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Combine your final egg and water to make the egg wash.
Roll out your pasta dough into thin sheets. You can do this manually with a rolling pin and parchment paper (and stretch the dough out by hand as well), or use a pasta maker. To assemble the ravioli, brush the egg wash over your thin sheet of pasta. Drop the filling mixture on the dough by teaspoonfuls about one inch apart. Cover the filling with the top sheet of pasta, pressing out the air from around each portion of filling. Press firmly around the filling to seal. Cut individual ravioli with a knife or cookie cutter!
Fill a large pot with salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add in the ravioli and cook until the ravioli float to the top (about 5 minutes).
Grease a baking sheet. Place the cooked ravioli on the sheet and bake for about 4 minutes.
Enjoy your fresh ravioli! Top the savoury ravioli with your favourite sauce, or for the savoury ravioli, top with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream!

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Quarantine Activity #4: Make your own mozzarella cheese

Quarantine Activity #3: Homemade Dinner & Dessert Ravioli!

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